This is the movie that almost killed me. Watching it many years ago, at NYC's Thalia Theatre, as part of an amazing double feature with "The Monster From Green Hell," I laughed so uproariously that I really thought I was going to rupture my spleen. It has been my favorite "bad movie" ever since, and I love it to this day, for many reasons. First of all, we have to wait a mere 20 seconds or so before we see one of the film's two impressive monsters. That first one is Trudy, who, when we first see her, is an ugly, bucktoothed, bushy-browed horror in a nightgown. Come morning, Trudy is as pretty as can be, but retains memories of the previous night. Could all this have something to do with the presence of her uncle's research assistant, Otto Frank (nee Frankenstein), in the house? What would you think? As it turns out, ol' Otto, the grandson of the original good Dr., is using Uncle Carter's lab for some projects of his own. The creature he ultimately creates looks like a wrinkled mass of toadstools, while the monster's female brain "is conditioned to a man's world; therefore takes orders where [19th century ones] didn't." (This line always brings the house down in theatres!) Fifties stalwart John Ashley provides his usual sturdy support to the befuddled Trudy, director Richard Cunha remarkably brings in his fourth awesome film of 1958 ("She Demons," "Giant From the Unknown" and "Missile to the Moon" being the others), and the Page Cavanaugh Trio performs two swinging rock 'n' roll numbers. Indeed, the song with the refrain "Shaba-labba-lop, bobba-lobba lobba-lop" (which I now know to be called "Daddy-Bird") was the one that almost killed me back at the Thalia. This really might be the most entertaining teen/horror/rock 'n' roll movie ever made, nicely presented on this crisp-looking Image DVD.
Review of Frankenstein's Daughter
